Year Long Absence
by magnificentponds
Summary: It's been a year since Harry's been to the Burrow. He's been traveling by himself, away from the hectic life of the Boy-Who-Lived. And now's he's back. But he's not sure what he's coming back to. A year is a long time. Things change. People change. People move on. Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Characters, setting, etc., all belong to J.K. Rowling.
1. The Boy-Who-Lived Returns

**The Burrow. August 15, 1999. **

Harry Potter apparated outside of the Burrow. It had been a year since he had been here. In front of, or anywhere near, the warm atmosphere of the Burrow. A year since he had left behind his friends and his family. And all because he needed to get away from it all. Everything. The press, the spies, the Ministry, everyone. He missed them terribly. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Luna, Neville, etc. He had spent the past year traveling around the world. No one knew where he was. He never stayed in one place for too long. And now here he was. Standing in front of his home. Some of his happiest memories were made here.

Harry walked towards the house slowly. Praying to himself that this wasn't a dream. He walked up to the door and knocked. After a while he hear shuffling behind the door. It opened to reveal a slightly flushed Mrs. Weasley. Once she laid her eyes on him, she stared. She stared at him with wide eyes and he gave her a small smile. At last, Mrs. Weasley flung herself at Harry and gave him a hug. She kept repeating how much she and everyone else had missed him. After a while she let go and wiped the tears away.

"Oh, Harry. Harry, Harry, Harry. How we've missed you." She whispered, holding him at arms length to get a good look at him. "Come in, I was just setting dinner on the table." She ushered Harry in and led him towards the dining area. The Burrow seemed empty. There was no noise, not even a creak. Harry looked around the house and tried to memorize everything about it. From the pictures of the Weasley's on the wall to the carpets and their smell. Not much had changed. The last time he had been in here was the night he left.

_Flashback -_

_Ron was fast asleep in his bed, snoring, limbs all over the place, and mumbling. Harry changed out of his pajamas and quickly grabbed his backpack and headed out the door. He stopped in front of Hermione and Ginny's room and stared at the door. He reached for the door handle before shaking his head and making his way downstairs. Every time there was a creak he would flinch and make sure no one was awake. He made it out the door. He looked back and sighed._

_"This is going to be good for you, Potter." Harry mumbled to himself. "This is what you need. After all the hell, you deserve to be a little selfish." He turned and disapparated on the spot._

"So, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, bringing him out of his thoughts. He turned to look at her. She seemed to have aged the past year. Noticeable wrinkles, more grey hairs, she looked worn out, but yet she still had the same warm, motherly smile she always had. "Where have you been? It's been a year. I expect a full explanation, young man."

Harry scratched his head and sat down. The table was filled with delicious smelling food. Pumpkin pie, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, chicken pot pie, spaghetti, and more. Harry's mouth watered at the sight. It had been far too long since he had Mrs. Weasley's cooking. Far, far too long.

"I'm waiting." Mrs. Weasley sat across from him, watching him like a hawk.

"Right," Harry cleared his throat. "I've been traveling."

Mrs. Weasley's eyebrows shot up. "That's it?" She exclaimed. She looked at him incredulously. "You've been off traveling for a whole year without so much as an owl? Harry James Potter, you daft boy. I've been worried sick about you for this long only to find that you were frolicking somewhere. Do you know how scared we were? We spent months searching for you and you disappear off the face of the earth without a trace. Oh, I should have your head for this!" Her eyes were flashing dangerously. When she was done she sat back in her chair and began breathing normally again.

"I - I'm sorry, ma'am." Harry said. It was something he had picked up when he was in the south. Calling ladies ma'am when he felt he had wronged them in some way. "It's just that I needed to get away. From everything. I didn't mean to hurt any of you. I just needed to be by myself. I needed some freedom. Somewhere no one knew my name, somewhere people wouldn't ask me if I was alright. I was selfish, I know, but after everything that's happened I think I deserve to be a little selfish. I understand that I'm not the only one who lost someone, but it's not fun seeing you all everyday and thinking about what I put you through. Just because you knew me. Because you took me in and made me apart of the family. I couldn't sit back and watch you all go on with your lives mourning Fred," At Fred's name Mrs. Weasley's eyes clouded over. "Remus, Sirius, Tonks, Colin, and so much more. I had to get away. And to be honest, if I had the chance to do it again, I would."

There was silence after he finished. They stared at each other. Neither saying a word. It was only when they heard a loud pop from outside did they look away. Mrs. Weasley got up to finish bringing the rest of the food in. Harry stood up to greet whoever it was at the door. The door opened and in came Mr. Weasley who had the same reaction as his wife. He stood there frozen. He had aged, too. Almost all of his hairs were white. He seemed to have lost some weight since the last time Harry saw him.

"Hello, sir."

Mr. Weasley snapped out of it and rushed forward to ingulf Harry in a hug.


	2. Dinner

After Mr. Weasley arrived, the three of them sat down at the table and began to eat. It was a quiet dinner except for Mr. Weasley's questions about where he had been, how he was, if he lived in the muggle or magical world (which disappointed him after he learned Harry stayed in mainly magical parts of the world). Finally Harry became bothered at the fact that there was no one else around. It seemed that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were the only ones who even lived here. Mr. Weasley saw his annoyance.

"They visit from time to time," He said.

Harry looked up at him confused, "What?"

"The children. They visit once or twice a week for our special dinners. They're very busy now." Mr. Weasley smiled.

"Oh, yes!" Mrs. Weasley said. "They work very hard now. I almost worry if they're taking care of themselves."

"You know they are, Molly."

"Yes, but a mother can't help but worry sometimes."

"Excuse me, but where are they? Ron, Hermione, Ginny, George, everyone?" Harry asked a little impatiently.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked at each other for a moment before saying, "Grimmauld Place."

Harry raised his eyebrow. "Why do you two look so worried?"

"Well, Harry," Mrs. Weasley began, "A lot has changed since you left."

"I want you to promise that you won't, under any circumstances, get mad at any of them." Mr. Weasley said, looking at Harry pointedly. "They are responsible adults who can do what they choose to."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. He was beginning to get frustrated by all the cryptic answers.

Mrs. Weasley stood up and began clearing the plates. "You might as well go over and find out yourself."

"Ah, yes. Wonderful idea, Molly. I've had a long day, I think I'll go up and get ready for bed. Night, Harry." Just as Mr. Weasley was about to leave he turned back and said, "Good to have you back."

Harry helped clear the table and then went to floo over to Grimmauld Place.

"Don't be surprised if they're a bit mad, Harry." Mrs. Weasley was saying. "I'd sit down and talk things through. You know how Ron overreacts to most things. Well, he has gotten calmer, but still."

"Thank you." Harry said quickly wanting to leave.

"Oh, right. Good night, Harry." She kissed his cheek and stood back to let him floo away. Harry gave her one last smile before spinning away in the green flames.

Moments later he landed in the living room of Grimmauld Place. He looked around while dusting himself off. It was certainly cleaner than when he had been here last. It looked liveable. It didn't have that dark feel to it anymore. But instead it had the atmosphere of a warm, family house. There was noise coming from somewhere in the back of the house. He followed it, feeling excited and nervous at the same time. He stopped in front of a door that he hadn't seen before. He leaned against the door and listened. All he heard was muffled voices. He knocked on the door and the noise stopped. Footsteps walked closer and Harry's heartbeat increased. The door opened and Harry was frozen on the spot. He was looking into the eyes of someone he never thought he'd be face to face with again.


	3. A Meeting at Grimmauld Place

"S-sirius?" Harry stuttered. He looked at the man in front of him. He couldn't believe his eyes. Sirius was there. Standing in front of him. It almost seemed unreal. He looked younger. His hair, surely it wasn't real, Sirius Black had cut his hair. It was short and spiky. It was darker and had no signs of grey. He seemed to have lost his age lines. In short, Sirius Black was alive and healthy. But how?

"Harry," Sirius said shocked. "You're here." He pulled Harry into the room and shut the door. "Say hello to everyone."

Everyone was right. Almost everyone Harry considered family was there. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Teddy. But there were two other people in that room that shocked him just as much as Sirius. Remus Lupin and Draco Malfoy. Harry was stared at as those he had grown another head while Draco was simply staring at him with his icy blue eyes. Harry stood there with Sirius's arm around his shoulder looking at everyone.

"Hello." As soon as he had said it he was bombarded by hugs and kisses from everyone. Once the greetings were done they all sat down and looked at him expectantly. What surprised Harry was that Hermione, his best friend, was seated unusually close to Malfoy who had his arm around her protectively. Hermione refused to look him in the eye but instead become interested in the hem of her shirt.

"Well?" Ron prodded. "What the bloody hell happened to you?"

"Ron," Ginny said. "At least let him breathe before you interrogate him."

"I think we've let him breathe long enough, Gin." Ron said. "It's been a whole year."

"Ronald, just let him explain." Hermione cut in. She rolled her eyes.

Ron scoffed. "Fine."

"Well, I, um, I've just been traveling." Harry said. It was the same thing he had told Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"That's it." Hermione said in a monotone voice. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You've been traveling. Simple as that."

Ron snorted. "I'm not surprised. Never were one for explanations were you, Harry?"

Ginny let out a small laugh. "Much like you."

Harry cleared his throat. "So, uh, what's happened with you lot?"

They all looked at each other before shrugging. "Not much," said Remus. He was sitting next to Hermione with Teddy in his lap. Teddy had changed his appearance to look like his father's. Sandy blonde hair with small flecks of grey, and honey colored eyes.

"Not much, eh?" Harry replied with a bitter grin. "I'd say otherwise. Sirius and Remus coming back from the dead, Draco Malfoy sitting in Grimmauld Place wrapped around my best friend who I thought was dating my other best friend. No, of course I haven't missed a lot."

Hermione sighed. "Oh, Harry, it's not that we don't want to talk to you it's just that it's a shocker. Seeing you here after a whole year without so much as an owl. We're just trying to get into the swing of things."

"Get into the swing of things by telling me what the hell's happened."

"Mate, calm down and we'll tell you." Ron said, patting Harry's shoulder. "After you left, Hermione and I realized we were better off as friends. We broke up, saw other people and now we're both happy in our separate relationships. Hermione's seeing Malfoy, and I'm seeing Luna."

"Why are you dating Malfoy? Have you forgotten he's a death eater!" Harry all but yelled the last part. "He was in alliance with Voldemort. You know, the guy that tried to kill us since we were kids. He fought on the dark side and now you're telling me you're dating him? Just like that?"

Hermione stood up angrily, nostrils flaring. Draco sat on the couch with a slight smirk on his face. Harry was surprised he had managed to keep his mouth shut for this long.

"Listen here, Harry James Potter," Hermione growled. "I am 19 years old. I have fought in a war. I've watched people die, people I loved, die left and right. I think I can make my own decisions. I have stuck with you through thick and thin. I never doubted you, don't doubt me. You've been gone for an entire year, things change, people change. We're not the same as we were when the war ended. It changed us. And Draco has changed, too. After the war, he did everything he could to make up for his mistakes. He apologized, we forgave him. Yes, it took some time, but we weren't going to let the war make us bitter. And if you had bothered to stick around long enough you would have seen how sorry he was." It seemed as though everyone was yelling at Harry that day. He didn't blame them, but then again, it hardly made him feel welcome.

He stared at Hermione from his position on the couch. She was breathing heavily. Her chest was rising and falling, her nostrils flaring, it looked like her hair was puffing up every second. Draco was staring at her with a surprised but proud look. Everyone else was staring at Hermione and Harry. Harry stood up and swept Hermione into the biggest hug.

"I'm so sorry," Harry whispered brokenly. "So very sorry."

Hermione sniffled. "It's alright. I just wish you hadn't left. But I assume it was the best thing for you at the time."

"It still doesn't excuse me from not writing to you."

She let out a sad chuckle. "Wait until you've settled in, mister. You've got hell to receive."

"Oi, I am still here you know." Ron's voice cried out.

Harry looked up at him and motioned for him to join. "Come on then."

Ron joined and soon everyone was in the hug, well, everyone expect Draco who sat on the couch staring at the group amused.


	4. A Talk With Malfoy

"That was quite a welcome," Sirius said as they all sat down again. He smirked at Harry. "I bet you weren't expecting that, were you?"

Harry shook his head. "Not at all. Now that we've cleared that up, why don't you finish telling me about what I've missed?"

"Oh!" Sirius shouted. "I'll start!"

Remus snorted. "Go ahead, Padfoot. No one's stopping you."

"Thank you, Moony." Sirius said. He got comfortable and tapped his chin for a while. "Where shall I start? Ah, yes, my return. Well, as you know in your 5th year I was shot into the veil by Bellatrix. And you all mourned my death like you should have. So I was shot in there by the killing curse. Which means I should have died, but I didn't and it's all thanks to our resident know-it-all. Hermione Jean Granger." At that, Hermione simply rolled her eyes and snuggled closer to Draco who kissed the top of her head. "But she refuses to tell us how she got me out."

Hermione huffed. "I've told you Sirius, Kingsley doesn't want anyone knowing or else there'd be riots of people trying to get their loved ones out."

"Whatever, kitten." Sirius said. "Anyway, after I got out, I was cleared by the Wizgamont. I became a free man. Cut my hair, cleaned Grimmauld Place, moved in with Remus, Teddy, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and George."

"He's also become quite the ladies man," Ginny said amused.

"A ladies man only to the ladies that don't run the other way when they see the former convicted murderer." Remus chuckled.

Sirius pouted. "I'm wounded. I'll have you know all the ladies want me."

Ginny patted his shoulder. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Whatever. Who's next?" Sirius grumbled.

"I'll go," Remus said. "Well, as you know Tonks passed away during the final battle and I was left with Teddy. I did have help. I don't know what I would've done without the Weasley's and Hermione's help. They brought me out of my depression. And after you left, Harry, I almost went back into the depression, we all did. But I stayed strong. Andy and I regularly visit one another now. She comes over every Saturday for dinner here. And that's about it, I suppose."

Harry sat there completely immersed in their stories. He listened extra carefully when Hermione told him about how she and Draco had gotten together. And even more carefully when Ginny told him about what she had been doing the past year. Apparently, she had gone back to school with Hermione and after that, she was now playing for the Holyhead Harpies as their star chaser.

The group talked late into the night. As they talked, a sudden sadness draped over Harry. He realized that they had gotten closer and had their very own inside jokes, even Draco. He seemed to be loved by everyone. Even Ron was joking around with him. Harry didn't know how to feel about it. To Harry, it seemed as though Hermione and Ron had replaced him with Draco.

_No, _Harry thought. _They would never do that. We're best friends. They would never replace me. Even if it was with Malfoy. _Harry quickly stood up and excused himself. He made his way to the kitchen and sat down at the table. He took a deep breathe and closed his eyes.

"Surprised, Potter?" A deep voice drawled from across from him. Harry's eyes shot open. Across from him sat Draco Malfoy. He had a smirk on his face. It seemed as though everyone was changing his or her hair. His hair was longer and, much like Harry's, it was messy.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked, leaning back in his chair.

Draco shrugged. "Hermione thought I should come and talk to you. So, Potter, I believe the question is, what's wrong with you?"

"Why in the name of Merlin should I tell you? Or better yet, why do you care?"

Draco rolled his eyes and sneered, "I don't. However, let us pretend I do for Hermione's sake. Merlin knows she would know if I didn't talk to you. How? No idea. But this way Hermione doesn't hex me into next week for not getting along with her best friend."

Harry's temper suddenly flared. "Do you even care about her, Malfoy? Be honest. Do you have any type of feelings towards my Hermione or is this just some sort of bloody act to make you look good in the public eye?"

"That is none of your business," Draco growled. "My relationship with her is no one's business, not even yours. I don't have to explain myself to you. In addition, don't you dare call her your Hermione. If she is anyone's she's mine. Even then, she refuses to be labeled as property. You have no right to call her your best friend or even yours; you have been gone for a year, Potter. We've been fine without you. Did you honestly think you could just waltz back in their lives and everything would be the same?"

"It is my business." Harry was standing up now and glaring at Draco who was doing the same. "She's my friend and I deserve to know if the guy who had tortured her for the past 7 years is right for her! Admit it, Malfoy. You've got some ulterior motive, don't you? You insulted her, belittled her, hated her for 7 years. What's changed? You can't answer that, can you? No, you can't. Because you don't actually love her. You're just dating her so everyone will know that you've changed when in reality you haven't."

They both pulled out their wands and pointed them at each other. Both Harry and Draco were staring at each other with fire in their eyes. They were breathing heavily.

"Go on, Malfoy," Harry taunted. "Let's have a go for old time's sake." Draco's grip on his wand tightened.

"Shut up." Draco hissed. "It will never be like old time's sake."

"Oh, that's right. You haven't changed."

Draco glared harder at Harry. He took calming breathes and slowly lowered his wand. "Trust me, Potter. I have changed. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't love to curse you. I'm doing this because of Hermione. If I were you, which I'd hate to be, I'd put your wand away." He gave Harry one last glare before leaving him standing in the kitchen by himself.


End file.
